Instant Messaging (IM) has been growing in popularity in recent years. Commonly utilized IM formats, such as Yahoo™ Messenger, created by Yahoo™ of Sunnyvale, Calif., and .Net Messenger, created by Microsoft™ of Redmond, Wash., allow a computer user to transmit typed information or other data (such as images and videos) to other users of the IM service almost instantaneously. Additionally, many cellular phones now have text messaging services, most utilizing the Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS), to allow customers to send and receive text messages.
In both formats, it is common to utilize fixed simple diagrams that can be displayed within the space of one or two characters in order to quickly convey common pieces of information. Most commonly, these simple diagrams represent emotional states of the user, such as happy being indicated by a smiley-face. As such, these symbols are sometimes known as “smileys”. In other circles, they are also known as “emoticons”. They need not be limited to emotional states, as the simple diagram can represent any type of message, such as a “happy birthday” symbol or the like. The rigidity and lack of choice of these fixed simple diagrams, however, is a limitation.
What is needed is a solution that allows more creativity and variety in the IM environment.